U.S. Bank sells mortgages originated by Union Bank; tariffs and interest rates; Mr. Cooper starts MSR fund; Congress plans to address housing.

Some of the mortgage bellwethers began reporting second-quarter results this week. The good news is that loan production increased nicely from the first quarter.

President Trump and FHFA Director Bill Pulte are going after high profile targets to address mortgage fraud at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

FHFA said lenders can now use VantageScore 4.0 when underwriting GSE loans. It’s not clear, though, if the mortgage industry is ready to take advantage of the opportunity.

The One Big Beautiful Bill included a plethora of tax breaks for individuals and businesses. The bill also sharply reduced the CFPB’s budget.

Originations of new HELOC commitments and closed-end second liens ticked up by 2.1% in the first quarter of 2025 compared with the previous quarter. Bank of America lost its spot as the top HEL lender. (Includes three data tables.)

Whole-company M&A deals are becoming more prevalent, but if the Federal Reserve suddenly cuts rates, the outlook could change.

The nonbank share of total originations increased from 65.2% in 2024 to 66.4% in the first quarter of 2025. Four of the five largest lenders in the residential mortgage market are nonbanks. (Includes two data tables.)

The Mortgage Bankers Association supports many of the housing-related provisions included in the bill proposed last week by Senate Republicans.

Industry insiders push the National Directory of New Hires as an alternative to a current process involving the IRS as a way to verify income and employment while expanding the digitization of the mortgage process.